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Robert Clinton
Robert Francis Clinton, MC (November 17, 1920 - June 25, 1995) was a Canadian soldier who served in the Canadian Army during World War II and the Korean War. Early life and family Clinton was born in the city of Barrie in Ontario, Canada. He was of mostly English and Irish descent. His father, Michael Percy Clinton, was a successful businessman who was away for a large part of his son's childhood. The Clinton family lived a very comfortable upper class lifestyle in Barrie. In 1938, after graduating High School, Clinton's parents enrolled him in the Royal Military College of Canada. In 1940, he graduated. Military service World War II Clinton was commissioned a lieutenant in the Canadian Army and was initially assigned to the 1st Battalion, Royal Regiment of Canada, part of the 4th Canadian Infantry Brigade, which itself was under the command of the 2nd Canandian Infantry Division. He was garrisoned in Toronto until June 1940, when his unit was sent to Iceland. In October, they travelled to England where they were reunited with the rest of the 2nd Division. Lieutenant Clinton and his men spent the next year in England taking part in extensive training exercises and preparing to meet the planned German invasion of Great Britain. Throughout 1941 and early 1942, the Canadians conducted several landing maneuvers in preparation for their first combat mission. Operation Jubilee, the Dieppe Raid, began in August 1942. The 4th Brigade landed on the Normandy coast near Puys, France, and were immediately decimated by the German defenses. Lieutenant Clinton rallied a small party of men who then linked up with other Canadian troops and tried to attack the town of Dieppe, but were forced back with extremely heavy casualtiesMentioned in Despatches for this action.. Clinton's men escaped back to the beach and were evacuated, but lost many more men in the process. The raid had been a catastrophe. Back in England, Lieutenant Clinton was transferred from his annihilated unit to the 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, part of the 1st Canadian Infantry Brigade of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division. The Canadian soldiers' duties were the same as before, including home defense and combat exercises. However, in late April 1943, the 1st Division was earmarked for combat duty in the Mediterranean. The division sailed from Britain in June, and was set to take part in the Allied invasion of Sicily. Clinton and his men landed with the rest of their unit at Pachino in July 1943, sweeping aside Italian resistance and capturing the airfield as well as stopping an enemy counterattack. They took the town of Ragusa, linking up with American forces there. Driving towards Messina, the Canadians fought back German and Italian forces at Leonforte, pushing through Agira and Catenanuova by August, finally capturing Adarno on the slopes of Mount Etna. After this key battle, the 1st Division was placed in reserve, and Lieutenant Clinton's men were able to get some much-needed rest. In Semptember, the division was given a new assignment as the Allies began their invasion of mainland Italy. In Operation Baytown, Clinton and his unit landed at Cape Spartivento near Reggio di Calabria in southern Italy. Enemy resistance was negligible, apart from a battle against Italian forces on the mountain of Aspromonte. In October, the 1st Division crossed the Biferno River and broke through the German lines on the Trigno River in early November. Beginning in December, the Canadians were selected for a massive assault against German positions on the Moro River. The attack ended in a stalemate, and Clinton's men struggled to take and hold a bridgehead across the river at Orsogna. After hard fighting around the Gully, Clinton's unit attacked in the Battle of Ortona. Resistance was fierce, and it was eight days of urban fighting before the Canadians finally cleared the cityMentioned in Despatches for this action.. After this battle, Lieutenant Clinton was sent back to England in January 1944 to be transferred a second time. In England, Clinton was assigned to 1st Battalion, Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, part of the 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division. He was promoted to captain in March and selected to command a company. The Canadian soldiers trained in England throughout the early part of the year for the planned Allied invasion of continental Europe. On June 6, 1944, Operation Overlord Began. Captain Clinton and the rest of the 3rd Division landed at various points on Juno Beach, the Canadian sector of the Normandy coast. Clinton's men attacked at Bernières-sur-Mer, capturing the town soon after and fighting their way inland to drive the Germans out of Anisy by the end of the day. The main objective for the Commonwealth forces in Normandy was the major city of Caen, which was heavily defended. As part of a much larger operation towards the city, Clinton's unit attacked in the Battle of Le Mesnil-Patry, but were driven back by German resistance. For the next few days, the Canadians conducted mop-up operations to clear German strongpoints which had been bypassed on D-Day. Beginning in July, the Canadians took part in another offensive towards Caen in Operation Windsor. Clinton's men took Carpiquet and its airfield, forcing back several German counterattacks but losing control of the airfield. Attacking again as a part of Operation Charnwood, the 3rd Division took part in an offensive towards Caen and Clinton's men finally captured the airfield for good. The Canadian forces in Normandy began another operation to coincide with a British attack in Operation Atlantic. Captain Clinton's unit pushed the Germans out of Gibberville, Colombelles as well as several other suburbs of Caen on the Orne River. Over the next few days, Clinton and his men played a supporting role in the Battle of Verrières Ridge where the Canadian forces were unable to dislodge the German defenders, as well as Operation Spring where they launched a few limited attacks against enemy positions. The Battle for Caen ended shortly afterwards. The 3rd Division advanced in Operation Totalize in August, but again only in support as the major German strongpoints were left to other Allied units. Later in the month, an offensive was planned to close the Falaise Pocket and close off the route of escape for most of the German forces in Normandy. In Operation Tractable, Clinton's men took Point 159 north of Falaise and continuing to push along the flank of the pocket. Seizing St. Lambert by the end of the month, the Canadians had closed the gap and brought an end to the Battle of Normandy as they drove onwards to the Seine River. Clinton's men crossed over the river at Elbeuf later in the month. After Normandy, the 3rd Division moved north to drive along the channel coast. In mid September, the division began Operation Wellhit, designed to take the city of Boulogne. Clinton's men attacked from the north, clearing the hills and suburbs north of the town. They captured the Fort de la Crèche after several days of fighting and the German garrison in Boulogne promptly surrendered. Immediately after, Captian Clinton was sent north to lead his men in the attack on Calais, codenamed Operation Undergo. The Canadians attacked the western coastal defenses, taking Sangatte a day later and then moving to attack from the east. At the end of the month, Calais was taken. The Battle of the Scheldt, the next mission for the Canadian forces, began in October 1944 with the objective of driving the Germans out of the Netherlands. Clinton's objective was to clear the Breskens Pocket, a point of resistance centered around the Dutch town of Breskens. Fighting would be heavy, as the German forces were well dug in. Clinton's men made supporting attacks which helped other Canadian units cross the Leopold Canal in Operation Switchback, after which they crossed the canal themselves and took the village of IJzendijke. Near the end of the month, the 3rd Division began to advance into the pocket. Against strong German resistance, Captain Clinton's men captured OostburgMilitary Cross received for this action.. In November, they crossed the Lys River and helped liberate Knokke and Zeebrugge in Belgium, closing the Breskens Pocket. The clearing of the Scheldt Estuary and the opening of Antwerp ended the campaign in a decisive, if costly, victory. After this battle, Captain Clinton and his exhausted troops were allowed to rest for the winter. The Canadians engaged in patrols and occasional small-scale fights against isolated German positions. The German offensive in the Ardennes directly threatened Antwerp and so Clinton was placed on alert should the enemy break through, but the offensive was contained and so nothing came of this. The next year, an offensive from the Netherlands into Germany was planned. The Battle of the Reichswald, Operation Veritable, began in February 1945. Captain Clinton and his men attacked over the Waal Flats, taking Millingen but being forced to slow down due to the flooded terrain. The front bogged down into a stalemate and it took the Allied forces weeks to clear the Reichswald Forest. As a follow-up operation afterwards, Operation Blockbuster was launched to clear the Hochwald Forest. Captain Clinton's men took the village of Mooshof after difficult fighting against entrenched German troopsMentioned in Despatches for this action.. They fought off a German counterattack and continued to clear Steeg and Wemmershof, north of Keppeln which was the main objective of the 3rd Division. They helped capture the town shortly after. In March, Clinton's men and the rest of the division captured the Balberger Wald in hard fighting and helped take Hammerbruch shortly after, linking up with British forces south of Sonsbeck. The offensive ended in mid March with the Canadians on the west bank of the Rhine River. Clinton's men crossed the Rhine at the end of the month in an amphibious assault as a part of Operation Plunder, capturing Hoch Elten a few days later. In April, they attacked and took Zutphen north of the Twente Canal. Crossing the IJssel River, Captain Clinton led the attack on Deventer, taking the town and continuing the advance north throughout the month. In May, the final phase of the campaign began. Captain Clinton's men crossed the Ems-Jade Canal and advanced against German positions at Aurich. Before an assault on the town was made, negotiations were held between the two sides and operations were suspended. On May 8, 1945, the German Army surrendered unconditionally to the Allies, bringing the war in Europe to an end. After the ceasefire, the 3rd Division paroled the German troops in their sector. Postwar In June 1945, Clinton returned home to Ontario. Still remaining in the Canadian Army, he was asked to join the Canadian contingent which would be used in the invasion of Japan. However, Japan's surrender ended this plan. He was placed in reserve after the war, and led a peaceful life at home in Barrie for five years before being called to active service a second time. Korean War On June 25, 1950, North Korea commenced its invasion of South Korea. The United Nations decided on immediate action, and called on all its member states to form a contingent in a force that would be used to repel the Communist invasion. Captain Clinton was called to service later in the year, and in 1951 the army formed the 25th Canadian Infantry Brigade. Clinton was placed on the brigade staff. Plans were made to send the brigade immediately, but due to UN successes in Korea, the departure was delayed. Almost a year after the war had begun, the brigade was called to the Korean peninsula. Captain Clinton and the rest of the 25th Brigade landed in Korea in May 1951. At the Han River, they were placed under the command of the US 25th Infantry Division. The Canadians' first mission was to advance the line north of the 38th Parallel with the rest of the Allied forces. Attacking against light resistance from the Chinese defenders, the 25th Brigade drove along the Pochon River until it had reached its objective. In front of the brigade was the mountain of Kakhul-bong and the village of Chail-li, both heavily defended. Attached temporarily to an infantry battalion, Captain Clinton participated in the attack on the village. He and the rest of the battalion drove the enemy out and fought off multiple fierce Chinese counterattacksMentioned in Despatches for this action.. Eventually, the Canadians' position became untenable and they withdrew from the village and the mountain. The brigade remained in reserve south of the Imjin-Hantan junction after this action. From July to September, Clinton and the men of the brigade took part in many patrols along the Chorwon Plain. At this time, the 25th Brigade was placed under the command of the 1st Commonwealth Division. In October, the UN offensive codenamed Operation Commando began. Clinton took part in the offensive, helping in the attack against the Chinese on Hill 187. With the UN line solidified, the Communist forces began a counteroffensive on November. Captain Clinton was engaged in the center of the line, and he helped to repulse a Chinese attack on the Canadian position. Aside from a few patrols in December, the front became quiet as neither side mounted any major attacks. In January 1952, the 25th Brigade was pulled from the line and sent into reserve before returning to the front in March, where they established defensive positions on the Sami-chon River. Despite an uptick in Chinese activity, no major battles were fought by the Canadians for the best part of the year. Captain Clinton was stationed on the island of Koje at the UN prisoner of war camp there from May to June. On the mainland, the brigade was again put into reserve in June and returned in August. At this point, the Chinese launched numerous aggressive raids against the 25th Brigade positions. In October, Clinton took part in repulsing a major Chinese attack on Hill 355. The front was quiet for the brigade for the rest of the year, and in January 1953, the 1st Division was put in reserve, to return to the line in April. Except for the occasional raid, there was little contact with the Chinese. On July 27, 1953, an armistice signed by the warring parties at Panmunjom ended the war in a stalemate. Captain Clinton remained in Korea with the 25th Brigade until 1955, when the formation was disbanded. Cold War in Germany and end of service Instead of returning home, Clinton was rerouted to Germany. He was promoted to major and posted to the 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade Group, which was stationed in the Canadian sector of occupied Germany. For two years, Major Clinton helped with occupation duties as the brigade did its part to deter a Soviet invasion of the west. In 1957, the brigade was returned to Canada. Wishing to return to civilian life, Major Robert Francis Clinton retired from the Canadian Army on September 17, 1957. Later life In 1958, Robert Clinton married Eileen Leigh MacArthur after a thirteen-year-long relationship which began in 1945 after Robert had returned home from World War II. After they were married, Eileen left her job at the mental hospital where she worked and the two moved to the remote village of Mattice in Northern Ontario. They frequently visited their families, both of which lived in the Golden Horseshoe area of Southern Ontario. In 1987, the couple was forced to move to Toronto for Robert to be treated for health complications which had been brought about by numerous wounds he had sustained in the service. On June 25, 1995, Robert Francis Clinton passed away in Toronto. His funeral at Mount Pleasant Cemetery was attended by his family and friends as well as men he had served with in his distinguished seventeen-year-long military career. One attendee was the Polish soldier and activist Jan Nowakowski, as the two had fought side by side in the Normandy campaign. His wife Eileen died in 2002 and she was buried in a plot next to him in the same year. Views Robert Clinton was not bound by a particular ideology, although he remained a member of the Conservative Party as his father had been previously. He supported NATO, combatting Communism abroad, and closer ties with Europe and America. He also believed in the government asserting its claims in the Arctic. In the 1963 Canadian flag debate, he remained a staunch supporter of the Red Ensign, stating that it was the flag that Canadians from all provinces and backgrounds had died for in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War, and that taking it down would be an insult to the country's war dead. Clinton was a member of the Anglican Church of Canada. Equipment In World War II and Korea, Clinton used standard British equipment including the Lee Enfield No.4 Mk.I bolt-action rifle with the No.4 Mk.II bayonet and the No.4 rifle grenade launcher. He carried as his sidearm an Enfield No.2 Mk I* revolver and the Mills No. 36M Mk.I fragmentation grenade. References Category:Soldiers in World War II Category:Soldiers in the Korean War Category:Canadian Soldiers Category:British Commonwealth soldiers